Miss Noble Goes to Cardiff
by Sally Scotte
Summary: Donna runs into an old acquaintance and the Doctor has to deal with the situation. Spoilers for Journey's End, naturally. Rated T for peril/drama, but otherwise nothing inappropriate. Also, complete with an alternate ending.
1. Chapter 1: A Friendly Not So Reminder

Chapter One: A Friendly Not-So-Reminder

Donna was late for work. That made the third time this month, and it wouldn't go over too well if she did it again. She almost wished she had a time machine; then she could go back and get the morning right.

She stopped in her tracks, wondering where that thought had come from. _Time machine....who would have a time machine anyway? And even if they did, they probably couldn't go back on someone's personal time line anyway. Apparently._ Shaking her head, Donna looked around the street, glad that no one was staring at her. She absently rubbed her fingers over her forehead and resumed her trek to work.

_These stupid headaches_, she thought to herself as she picked up her pace. _If I could get them to go away I'd get some proper sleep._

Of course, it wasn't just the headaches that bothered her. First there was her granddad, who hadn't been able to look her in the eyes for weeks without tearing up, and her mum....her mum hadn't insulted her or picked a fight in so long Donna couldn't remember their last argument. _Maybe I'm ill._

Occasionally on the way to work she could swear she saw a blue phone box -the kind from the 1950's- or a familiar-looking man with poofy hair and a striped suit. She shrugged it off, but it gnawed at the back of her mind and tended to make the headaches worse. _Maybe I've gone bonkers._

Other times she would catch people giving her sad, strange looks; random people on the street would glance at her, look as if they were about to say something, then frown and rush away. She thought maybe she'd spilled something, or that there was something on her back, but there was never any explanation for it. _Why are people staring at me? I'm nothing special_.

"That's it," she said one day after a particularly long day at work, "I'm going for a drink." Probably wouldn't help, but it couldn't hurt either. On the plus side, she'd gotten a call that morning about a job offer. In Cardiff, at a ruddy newspaper office, but higher pay and a permanent position, not to mention the opportunity to move out of her mother's house. _Maybe I'll pop by there, have a drink, see the building._ In other words, Donna didn't want to go home that night. The last couple months had been disconcerting, and her family was making her feel even more out of place. She needed a night to herself.

She rang her house, figuring when no one answered that her granddad was up on the hill again. Maybe she shouldn't go out; he was always upset when he came back from the allotment and had a harder time meeting her eyes than usual. The machine beeped loudly in her ear and she made up her mind.

"Mum? Granddad? Oi, Granddad, don't you catch a cold up on that hill, you hear me?" She laughed cheerfully. "Just ringing to let you know I'm staying out for the evening. Don't wait up for me, Mum, I'm old enough to be out on my own. Just going out to-" the machine beeped again to let her know it was running out of space. _Oh well. _"I'm going out, that's all," she said quickly. "Love you," she added as the line disconnected.

She got to Cardiff around 8:30, wondering why she'd bothered to come at all; there weren't very many people around and she'd only been here a couple times, so she didn't know any of the good pubs. After walking around for a while, she saw a girl coming down the street and decided to ask where to get a good drink. "'Cuse me, Miss. I was wondering if you could-"

"Donna!" The young woman rushed to her and practically knocked her over with a hug, her dark hair hitting Donna in the face. _Nutter. Maybe I'll turn that job down after all. _"Oh, Donna, how have you been?"

Donna fought the urge to smack the girl, aiming (and missing by a mile) for polite instead. "I'm sorry, do I _know_ you?" The woman's face fell and she quickly released Donna, straightening her jumper and no longer wanting to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry, that's right. You probably don't remember me. We've only met once, after all. Gwen Cooper, nice to see you again."_ Who the devil is Gwen Cooper? _"Were you here to see the team?" Donna smirked, imagining what kind of a team this girl could belong to, when Gwen's babbling cut into her thoughts. "-haven't been to Torchwood in a few weeks, been away on vacation with Rhys. Figured we'd earned it after all we've been through. I've missed everyone, so I figured I'd drop by and surprise them. We might as well both go."

_Torchwood._ A word she knew, or knew she should know. _What's a Torchwood?_ She felt it best not to ask. "Er....actually I was just popping by, I think I'll be going."

Gwen smiled and nodded. "Tell the Doctor hello for me! And thanks again, Donna. Thank you so much." She was thanking her? Whatever for?

"I'm sorry? Doctor? Doctor whom? I'm not from around here, don't know any doctors." _Torchwood. The Doctor. Donna Noble, the Doctor, Donna, the Doctor, the DoctorDonna. What? _Donna shook her head, confused, and Gwen, who had been deciding whether or not to be offended, now appeared concerned.

"Donna, maybe we _should_ take you to Torchwood. You don't look well." Donna nodded, still no idea what was going on, and Gwen took her down a few blocks to the Torchwood Hub. "Wait here for a minute, would you? I'll just let the others know you're here. They'll be thrilled to see you."

Gwen stepped into the lift, and almost immediately she was down in the Hub where Mickey, Martha, and Jack were running tests, watching monitors, or in Jack's case, casting a suspicious glance in her direction. "You're not working for another week," he said with a wink. "Get out."

"Jack....I know I've been gone, but why doesn't Donna remember me? I'm a bit worried." Jack's grin disappeared instantly and Martha's jaw dropped, obviously not prepared for such news. "What is it? She's upstairs waiting. I thought she might have hit her head or something. She looks bloody awful."

Mickey didn't say a word as he ran upstairs. He saw Donna sitting by the front door looking very confused and a bit upset. "I know you," she said, more of a question than a statement. "You're....you're Ricky, right?" That answered one question. The metacrisis definitely hadn't gone away. So why hadn't she burned up already? _Not that I'm complaining_.

"Sorry," she said with a shrug, "Memory's terrible." Donna offered him a small smile, looking around the room as if trying to figure out where she was. _Can't have any of that_, Mickey decided. He rushed up to her and shook her hand, then led her to the lift.

"Mickey, actually, but don't worry about it. Happens all the time." He smiled at her and realized on the way downstairs that he'd never met her properly, nor had Gwen. _That must be protecting her brain_, he reasoned, which was why he cursed himself when the lift doors opened to show Jack and Martha hurriedly dialing the Doctor's number. "Come on, Doctor, pick up!"

"Jack! Martha!" at which point Donna promptly screamed and fainted.

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To be continued....


	2. Chapter 2: Anticipation

Chapter Two: Anticipation

"Doctor!"

"Martha? What....why are you-" He heard a shriek in the background, then Jack's voice replaced Martha's.

"Not now," Jack barked at his colleague as he took the mobile. "Doctor, I need you at Torchwood." The Doctor rolled his eyes. He had ideas about what Jack _needed _him for at Torchwood, and he wasn't interested.

"Listen, Jack, I've told you a thousand times that I don't-"

"It's Donna." The Doctor's hearts skipped their respective beats. "Doctor, listen-"

The line suddenly went dead and Jack threw the mobile across the room in frustration, breaking it into pieces. One section of the broken phone skidded under the couch where Donna and Martha were sitting. All right so far except for the initial shock of remembering everything, Donna was shaking slightly as Martha handed her a cup of tea.

"How are you, Donna? Feeling okay?"

Donna shot Martha a glare, then softened her expression as she said, "All right, I suppose. Oh, I'm going to _murder_ that stupid alien when he gets here. He won't be able to see straight for a week after I'm done slapping him." She stood and walked to Jack. "So when's the git coming?"

Jack chuckled, then looked at Donna's face. She seemed perfectly fine. Maybe the Doctor was wrong. Maybe it wouldn't destroy her brain to have a few Time Lord ideas in her head after all.

"So, Martha, how's that fiancé of yours?" Donna sipped her tea and smiled. "You haven't mentioned him since we saw Jenny....okay, I wouldn't remember anyway, but I'm pretty sure you haven't said a peep." Tom was fine, of course, still working out in Africa. Martha and Donna chatted for over an hour, Donna laughing at all the mishaps the Torchwood team had gotten themselves into since the Doctor had wiped her mind.

She returned Gwen's hesitant smile as the young woman walked by and made a joke that Gwen's jumper looked much nicer without Donna Noble brains splattered across it. "Ginger's not a good look for you," she teased, and Gwen looked relieved. But Donna's head was killing her, and she only truly heard half of their stories. _When is the Doctor getting here?_

--------------------------------

The Doctor was near Klom when Martha and Jack called. It wasn't such a long trip back, but he didn't feel like having an idle chat with Captain Shag-Me while Donna was possibly dying.

_What have I done? _The simple truth was that it wasn't his fault, that she'd known the danger when she had agreed to go travelling with him, and he had been so careful to tell everyone who could trigger Donna, had done everything in his power to keep her safe. He couldn't possibly have known Gwen wouldn't be told, but the Doctor never saw things that way.

His mind drifted to Rose, though only briefly, and how much she had sacrificed to be with him. She hadn't died though, as others had. She'd been inconvenienced, yes, and it hurt to have her gone, but she'd survived. River hadn't. Neither had Gwyneth, or Ursula Blake, or even the Master, though that certainly wasn't his fault and even he knew it.

And now Donna Noble, the most important woman in the universe whether or not she believed it, was about to be added to the list. He piloted the TARDIS by force of habit and forced his mind to dwell on other things; feeling guilty wouldn't help either of them.

_Cardiff._ He thought about it for a moment. _What was Donna doing in Wales at this time of day?_ It had to be around 11pm in Cardiff. A sudden thought hit him. _Maybe they tried to phone earlier._ He didn't make a habit of carrying the mobile around; it was possible that Donna had encountered Gwen that afternoon, even that morning, and they'd just been able to reach him. If that was the case....the Doctor pushed the TARDIS to her limits and tried to ignore the ramifications of it all.

--------------------------------

"Oi, I don't care how handsome you are, you can keep your hands to yourself!" Donna's stern tone was betrayed by a giggle as Jack backed away, hands in the air, muttering, "Yes, ma'am, whatever you say ma'am, please don't slap me ma'am," as he left.

Donna laughed, then aimed to take another drink of her tea when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She accidentally dropped her cup, smashing it on the floor, and gasped so loudly she was sure Gwen must have heard her, despite the fact that she was now on a different floor.

Martha, being on the _same_ level, obviously heard and immediately turned to face her. "You sure you're all right? You don't have to stand around, you know. Have a seat." Donna shook her head and grinned. "I'm fine. I'm just a clumsy sod is all. Best temp in Chiswick, but I can't seem to keep from spilling drinks everywhere I go," she laughed. Martha gave her a sideways glance, but went back to work anyway.

_Doctor, where are you?_ She made sure no one was looking, then put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating like mad, and that stupid headache was getting almost unbearable. _Still, could be worse._ One Christmas she had gotten so drunk she didn't remember a whole week. It wasn't until after she met the Doctor that she'd heard about the Sycorax, blood control, all that business.

Never mind that. She could use a little _mind_ control right about now, specifically the Time Lord bits, the part that was going to make her brain stop functioning, and pretty soon if the headache and dizziness were any indication. _Maybe I better sit down after all...._

She was beginning to wonder if the Doctor was coming for her at all. She knew he wouldn't abandon her, but he could have been anywhere, and the universe was hardly a small place; for all she knew he was trapped somewhere or had been hurt trying to get back to her. Jack said the line had gone dead, and the Doctor's phone didn't just die, he'd done enough jiggery-pokery _(The liar, that's _hardly_ the technical term. The technical term has 17 syllables, dumbo!)_ to ensure that.

Something had to be very wrong. _Please don't leave me. Not again. _She missed him terribly, despite being angry that he'd wiped her mind, and she wanted nothing more than to see him again, if only to make sure he was okay without her. _Not that I'd tell him that._ Her pounding heart jumped into her throat as she heard a familiar comforting sound. The TARDIS.

_He's here._ It took all her concentration not to black out. "Jack...."

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To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3: Reunited and It Feels So

Chapter Three: Reunited and It Feels So....

The Doctor could see the Earth, then England, then Cardiff, and finally Torchwood, and the TARDIS pulled off one of the quickest, roughest landings she'd done in ages. He rushed outside and toward the front door, where Jack was waiting for him.

"Is she all right? How's her head?" Jack was oddly silent. "Jack, Donna....how's Donna?" Jack stepped aside to let the Doctor in, but still didn't say a word. "I got here as fast as I could....the TARDIS isn't as young as she used to be, and I had trouble with the extrapolator again, ended up in the 14th century for about an hour. They thought I was a witch -well, warlock I suppose- tried to tie me to the TARDIS and burn me alive."

He was babbling now, talking a thousand miles a minute in his panic. "Just tell me-" He froze. "Tell me she's not dead. Oh no, she can't...." Jack wouldn't look the Doctor in the eye, but instead was staring towards the lift.

"Come on, Doctor, this way," he said calmly, ignoring it when the Doctor grabbed his arm and pulled Jack to face him.

"Jack, answer me! Is Donna okay?" Still silent, Jack gently pushed the Doctor toward the lift, but he wouldn't turn away. Finally the Doctor stopped fighting him, running one of his hands through his hair. "Not Donna," he whispered, "please, not Donna. Jack, answer me."

Jack smiled and removed his hands from the Doctor's shoulders. "Took you long enough," he muttered, and the Doctor felt something collide with the back of his head. "Ow! What the...."

"That's what you get for wiping people's minds without asking!" By the time the Doctor turned around, however, he wasn't facing another slap, but instead was wrapped in one of the best hugs he'd ever gotten. "Oh, I'm going to _kill_ you, you great big outer space dunce," Donna whispered as she held him tighter. Jack disappeared into the lift, mouthing "She seems fine to me" as the doors closed.

The Doctor hugged Donna back for a few seconds, then pulled away and looked her over. She was smiling broadly, practically glowing considering how angry she'd claimed to be a few moments before. She kept trying to glare at him but couldn't seem to keep a straight face. "So....couldn't wait to get rid of me could you?" she muttered with an amused look. "Notice you came back pretty quick though. Maybe you're not as thick as I thought."

"So....did you miss me?" he asked with a mischievous grin. Donna started to yell at him but was caught off guard when he embraced her again, wrapping his arms around her body and squeezing so tightly her harsh reprimand came out as a squeak. "Oi!" He set her back down and she adjusted her blouse with a scowl. "Well," he repeated, a twinkle in his eye, "did you?"

Donna huffed, staring him down until she finally burst into laughter. "Of course I did, you dumbo," she replied. "Martha said you've been on your own again. I told you about that Spaceman," Donna warned playfully, "I can't watch after you all the time."

She leaned against his shoulder for a moment and blinked a few times before giving him another cheeky grin. "Donna, what's wrong?" Her eyes, generally clear and constantly ready to give a dirty look, were now clouded over and dull.

"Nothing. And I know what you're thinking, don't you dare take your screwdriver and start bleeping me, or I'll slap you again." She smirked, then winced and rubbed her forehead. "I'll tell you what _is _a problem though. This headache. I could use getting rid of that if you don't mind. Got any aspirin? Course you don't, you're allergic, silly me." She paused, suddenly quiet. "When did you tell me you were allergic to aspirin?" She massaged her head again and the Doctor reached inside his pocket. "Donna...."

Donna wound up to smack him, then thought better of it. _He's just trying to help, after all_. She gave him an 'all right then, have a go' gesture and he yanked out the screwdriver. "Okay, so I'm dying. Isn't that just wizard for all of us. And while we're talking about it-OI, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE POINTING THAT THING, SUNSHINE!-how are you going to fix it?"

The Doctor sighed, then looked Donna over once more before replying, "When did you see Gwen? Was it this morning, afternoon, when?"

"About 9:30. I got a new job up here and was walking around for a bit." He did the math; she didn't stand a chance unless he figured something out very soon. They were lucky she wasn't in worse pain already but knowing Donna she could barely stand and was just too tough -too stubborn, more like- to let him know she was hurting.

"What? Aren't you going to ask if I had a hall pass?" A moment of awkward silence passed, then they burst out laughing. She gave him a wicked grin, then frowned. "Well, any ideas, Spaceman? I have to work tomorrow, and I have the feeling that if I die, they'll sack me."

He whirled away and wracked his brain, thinking if there was anything that could save her. _The Chameleon Arch?_ No. She had a Time Lord mind, but still a human body, and the Arch was meant for Gallifreyans only; it would do more damage than good, if she could survive the transformation at all.

He considered wiping her mind again but knew she wouldn't allow it. Besides, there was a big enough chance that it would cause permanent mental damage if he tried to lock it all away a second time, and it obviously wasn't the best long-term solution to begin with anyway.

"You can't think of anything either?" Donna asked, teasing but with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She made a sound that implied 'worth a try, yeah?' and shrugged, but suddenly felt dizzy again. She took a hesitant step toward him. "Doctor?"

He sighed and slowly turned back around. "Yes, Donna? Donna!"

Donna had collapsed.

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To be continued....


	4. Chapter 4: Disassociation

"Donna?" He was sitting beside his friend, afraid to move her in case she'd hurt herself when she fell, but he didn't have much of a choice; he had to see if she was all right and she certainly wasn't going to tell him. He carefully rolled her over so she was laying on her back and checked to make sure she wasn't injured. She'd managed to cushion the fall with her hands, which didn't look much worse for the wear. "Arms, legs, neck, head, nose, you're fine," he reassured her with a wink, but his wit was lost on his unconscious friend and without an answer his smile faded. "Donna, can you hear me?" he prodded softly, but she wouldn't wake.

He quickly picked up her wrist, ensuring she still had a pulse. It was as strong as its owner, _too_ fast if anything, and he put a hand to her head, withdrawing it immediately: she had a fever. That wasn't accurate, he supposed. It wasn't so much a fever as that she was boiling, her temperature already over 105 degrees. "Oh, Donna, why didn't you say something?" He took stock of everything and quickly realized exactly _why_ she wasn't moving. Frantic, he smacked her gently on the cheek in an attempt to rouse her. "You need to look at me, Donna," he urged her. "Wake up."

The Doctor was staring at Donna's flushed face when her eyes snapped open with a look of pure agony. She couldn't breathe, but that didn't mean she wasn't trying. Her nostrils flared like they did sometimes when she got angry and he thought for a second that she'd succeeded. "Concentrate, Donna. Just breathe," he coaxed gently, but her lungs were failing as his mind overpowered hers. The metacrisis was cancelling out her body's primary functions one by one while it tried to find space for all the information it -he- had collected over the years, and it was killing her. In effect, _he_ was killing her.

The Doctor started to prop her up in hopes it would ease her breathing but she coughed so violently at the shift, tears streaming down her face as her chest refused to expand, that he set her back down, scared for a second to even touch her. He thought of going for Martha but there was nothing she could do anyway. Besides, he wasn't leaving Donna's side for a second, not when she needed him.

He stared down at her, wanting to help but knowing he couldn't; he could barely stand to just sit by and watch Donna choke to death. He could handle her dying, thought it might have been her choice if he'd allowed her one the first time, but he couldn't let her go like this. _Donna, you deserve better_, he thought to himself as he brushed her hair out of her face.

She wheezed loudly, desperate for air, gripping his knee and holding on tightly as she whispered something, but he was too focused on Donna's bluing lips to catch anything coming out of them. When she seized violently and her eyes began to roll back into her head he instinctively grabbed her, making up his ever-brilliant Time Lord mind that he wouldn't let her suffer any more than she had to. He owed her at least that much after all they'd been through.

"Don't smack me for this," he said with a grin, and she forced herself to look at him, giving him a slightly puzzled look, still laced with fear, as he pulled her closer. He put his mouth on hers and saw her eyes widen in surprise, then lose focus and close altogether. She still shook with the effort to breathe, but it was a lot easier with his respiratory bypass system doing most of the work and while it wouldn't save her, at least she wouldn't be in as much pain.

--

_Doctor, help me_, she tried to say, but it was hard to form the words and there was no air to speak them with, so she just looked up at him, pleading with her eyes as she felt herself suffocating. "It hurts," she managed to choke out, and chided herself for being so weak, but he didn't seem to hear her. She started shaking, unable to control herself, and as the Doctor moved to help her she heard him say something about smacking him.

_Why would I hit him _now? _He's not done anything daft_. The next thing she knew he was kissing her, snogging the life out of her in fact, and she almost passed out from shock _(It's never just a normal shock for us, is it?) _before she realized that it felt...good in a way, almost like she could breathe again. _Oh, he's never going to live this one down._

At first she tried to shove him away, but a bit of Time Lord mind kicked in and she yanked him closer instead, repeatedly slapping one of his hands against the side of her face in an attempt to let him know what she'd thought of. Startled, he broke contact and regretted it immediately; Donna was gasping again, but between her ragged breaths he distinctly heard the words "dumb Martian" as she tried to drag him back toward her.

"Donna, have you lost your mind? You've never wanted to..." Then he understood. The look on her face was still frightening, but mixed in with the terror and pain was the DoctorDonna, and she'd just figured out how to save herself. "Brilliant!" Surprisingly, of all his companions, she was now the one he'd kissed the most, something she'd definitely have a thing or two to say about if she survived. She gave him a look that implied 'you _know_ we're never doing this again, right?' but allowed him to place his hand alongside her head and press their lips together.

He looked inside her, taking back anything with Time Lord thought behind it, gently removing it from her mind and reinserting it into his own. She could learn how to co-pilot the TARDIS again if she wanted, and she really didn't need (or want) to know the history of Gallifrey. He took more, erasing everything that was him but leaving everything that was Donna, just plain, brilliant, amazing Donna Noble.

Since it was his consciousness, his knowledge in her head instead of the Vortex, he couldn't pull it out like he'd done with Rose. He was forced to take the 'slow path', transferring his memories with one hand while he held her steady with the other and made sure she kept breathing. He'd wanted to do it originally, when they'd been on the TARDIS, but there hadn't been time; it wasn't the easiest thing to do and it certainly wasn't quick.

Now it didn't seem there was a choice; if he didn't attempt it Donna would die. He saw flashes of her life amongst his own and tried to ignore them, concentrating on isolating his memories and not harming hers. It was bloody hard but fortunately for both of them, he was equally brilliant.

They both started shaking when he came to the Time War. The destruction, the horror that flashed through both their heads as they relived Gallifrey burning, every Time Lord reduced to nothing...he saw Donna's eyes look at him with such compassion, her own distress forgotten as Romana and Leela and the Master, so many friends now lost, rushed through her mind. The Doctor faltered as Susan and Jenny (no, he could leave her alone) popped into view, and her tears were for his pain as much as hers as the rest of his family floated into her consciousness before being yanked decisively out of focus.

As he stole his granddaughter from his friend's thoughts he heard his name, not 'The Doctor', but his proper name, almost dropping Donna by mistake when he realized she knew it now too. She squeezed his leg again, letting him know it was okay to take it away, that she had no business knowing, but he shoved the secret back into her head without a second thought.

The Doctor about hit himself over the head. He was so busy sorting through their memories he'd forgotten to keep breathing. It was fine for him -he could go quite a while without air- but his bypass system had abandoned his companion to assist him, leaving Donna pale and shaking, scratching at him furiously while she fought not to pass out from the lack of oxygen. He stopped long enough to say "Sorry" and let her get a weak slap in, then continued.

He multi-tasked, using their mental connection to talk to her as he worked, letting her know everything he'd done, everywhere he'd been while she was gone, telling her how much he'd missed her and how he couldn't wait for her to join him again.

He'd been back to Rome three times since they'd separated, all in later years, and he saw the ghost of a smirk on her face when he told her they'd been made deities. _And let me tell you, they didn't half have trouble fitting your nose on the panel,_ he pestered her. She glared and tried to hit him but her hands were shaking and she could barely manage to poke his knee.

_You're fine,_ he promised her with his mind as her heart stuttered and she stared at him in panic, her pale blue eyes wide and frightened. He took things out even quicker, apologizing silently to her every time she squirmed and writhed in pain when he ripped something away, unable to do anything else but hold her tighter and attempt to distract her. _Hey, you're kissing me again,_ he teased, _like it any better this time?_ and he almost cheered when she found the strength to punch him in the arm. _Ow!_ he yelled into her brain. _See? That's more like it._

He felt their meeting in her head and tried to take it away, but she fought him. _Donna, what's wrong? _The Doctor saw Sylvia screaming at Donna and Lance berating her while the Racnoss Empress looked on in amusement. He watched himself sitting on a rooftop, scanning her and telling her she wasn't special or clever enough to be targeted by the robots; he couldn't believe he'd said something like that to her, even if she had appeared average at first glance.

Thinking it could still be his recollection, he tried to wrestle it from her mental grasp. _Donna, we don't have time for this, let it go. _He caught a glimpse of Donna's father and immediately released the memory, seeing the hurt in her eyes as a tear rolled onto his finger. _I'm sorry, _he offered, _I didn't mean to._ She gave his arm an understanding squeeze and he wiped the tears from her scalding face, automatically leaving any memory with Donna's family in it alone.

It was taking too long to remove everything; her temperature was reaching a critical level and he could literally _feel_ her heart throbbing erratically against his touch. It was alternating between going fast enough to account for two of the muscle and then not beating at all for a period, almost a minute on one occasion, and he was scared he'd lost her, but the Doctor could feel her mind clinging to life and he went as fast as possible, hoping he'd succeed.

--

Donna tried to speak but she was struggling to stay awake as it was and, not having any experience at telepathy, she could only project his own words back to him anyway. She wanted to let him know that he was helping; he was doing his best and she understood that.

She knew if _(more like when...what are the odds I'll be able to hold on much longer? Oh, blimey, I picked a bad time to be good with numbers!)_ she died he'd blame himself, never forgive himself for not being fast or clever or whatever else he would think he wasn't enough to save her. He'd lost enough in the past without faulting himself for her too, and she never wanted to see him as sad as when they'd met, especially on her account.

Donna searched the bits of him yet in her head for something to say to help him, just in case she couldn't thank him herself. She decided that "Allons-y" and "Fantastic" were not appropriate for the situation, and he never should have said "It is defended" in the first place; it was such a cliché, even for the Doctor._ Silly spaceman, _she thought affectionately, unable to transfer the thought to him, and she held his arm tightly, whimpering as her pulse surged out of control then cut out again for a moment.

It took longer for her heart to start back up than the last time and was now going so fast it was more of a hum than individual beats. Donna was terrified._ It's okay, I've got you, _his voice told her as he stroked her cheek reassuringly with his thumb and their time with Agatha Christie flitted between their heads. _See? You can't leave,_ he declared, _I still need a plucky young girl to help me out._ She smiled tiredly in spite of herself and tried to ignore the fact that her eyes couldn't focus on his face any longer.

_Before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic,_ she pulled from his memories as they whizzed by painfully, _absolutely fantastic. And d'you know what? So was I. _He got the message this time, paling when he understood what she was trying to say. He assured her that he was nearly done, that she'd be better in a minute and could yell at him properly, call him a prawn and even slap him a few times if she wanted. _I need a good slap,_ he jested.

_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,_ he heard his voice echo toward him from inside Donna's head as the last of his knowledge still flooded through her. Then her eyes fluttered shut as she lost her battle to stay with him, and the link between them was broken as she went limp in his arms.

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To be concluded...


	5. Chapter 5a: The End, or Is It?

"_I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never going to leave you."_ Rose's promise to him slipped out of Donna's head as her grip on his arm slackened, the last of his Time Lord thoughts finally evacuated from her precious human brain as her eyes slid closed. He let go of her mouth, still holding her up with one arm, and congratulated her. "Donna, we did it!" He moved his hand to her shoulder so she could sit up and her head tipped loosely back into his fingertips. He knew she'd be exhausted after her ordeal, but she should at least be awake. "You're safe, it's okay. Open your eyes." She didn't respond.

Donna refused to wake despite his efforts, so he picked up the sonic screwdriver again to make sure she was still there: one beating heart, two lungs, human brain, no Time Lord to crowd the space anymore. She'd be fine, but she was very weak, something he'd never thought Donna capable of, and she needed to rest. She had been closer to death than he cared to think; even another minute or two and Donna wouldn't have made it, her brain overheating from her fever or her heart giving out from the strain.

As it was, her system was in shock and she was still having trouble breathing so the Doctor helped her, slowing his respirations to match hers as Donna's lungs expanded obediently; no longer forced to mimic his bypass system, they were finally allowing air in again. He was overjoyed that she was all right but not looking forward to the slap he knew he'd receive when she recovered and remembered that he'd had to _snog _her to save her, at least in a manner of speaking. His cheek stung already, but he couldn't stop smiling. He had his best mate back, and she was safe. She could backhand him a thousand times and still not upset him.

--

Martha and Jack stepped silently out of the lift, having decided to invite Donna and the Doctor to join the team for "breakfast" (aka a celebratory 3am pizza) when their eyes settled on the pair already occupying the lobby. Donna looked terrible, slumped unmoving on the floor, and the Doctor was..._What exactly IS he doing?_ Martha wondered, watching in horror as the Doctor appeared to be holding her unconscious friend against himself, smiling and kissing her passionately. She'd stepped out to see Donna hitting him, then saw him..._attack?_...her again and Donna had passed out. Noting that he wasn't stopping, she let out a startled gasp and the Doctor's eyes shot up to meet hers.

The Doctor looked up and realized that Jack and Martha were standing in the lobby staring at him, Jack wearing a smirk (of course, he _would _find this amusing) and Martha momentarily looking like a sick puppy, then shaking it off and shooting him an understanding, even thankful glance as she realized what was going on._ This is a little awkward,_ he observed as he carefully laid Donna back on the floor, making sure she was breathing of her own accord. "She's fine," he informed them as he stood up, "just tired. Will you lot keep an eye on her for a couple days?"

Jack and Martha both gave him a confused stare, to which he replied, "She'll be okay, but she _really_ shouldn't be around me right now, not after what I just did to her." When Jack continued to gawk at him and Martha looked as if she could cry again, he got exasperated. "Stop looking at me like that! She was choking, what was I _supposed_ to do?" At this, Martha got her senses about her once more and hurried over to check on Donna, avoiding the Doctor's irritated gaze as he pulled her away.

"I told you, she's all right, just let her sleep. The Time Lord consciousness was taking over her brain and shutting everything down, but I figured out a way around it. Brilliant, I was," he boasted, grinning proudly. "Wellll," he mulled it over and admitted, "technically, I suppose it was her idea. Little bit of plain human did the trick." Jack suppressed a laugh at this revelation and the Doctor quickly amended, "But don't tell her I said that. I'm just getting used to this body; I don't want to have to break in another."

"I don't understand, Doctor," Jack said as he walked over to open the lift doors, "she seemed fine earlier, like nothing was wrong."

"Well, that's Donna for you," the Doctor replied with a sigh as he looked down at his companion, inspecting her again just in case. "Anyway, I had to wipe a few things-" Jack and Martha started to protest "-but not everything this time. Just my thoughts, the Time Lord knowledge, and they're gone, permanently, so if the first thing she sees when she wakes up is me she'll be confused. It'll be tough on her, may take her brain a couple of weeks to sort everything so that she can remember me without trying to recall _being_ me, and I want you all to help her with it. Can you do that?"

Martha slowly nodded, and Jack gave a little salute as he and the Doctor picked Donna up and took her down the lift, placing her on the couch and leaving her to rest. "Doctor, is it safe to-"

"You can talk about me, the TARDIS, but nothing that happened after we were taken to the Crucible. Not a word," he repeated sternly, "it won't hurt her really, but it'll make it harder for her, and she's been through enough as it is. If she asks, she was knocked out or drugged, anything you can come up with, so long as it keeps her from asking too many questions." He considered his last instruction. _Well, there's another slap I can look forward to._

Good luck with that by the way," he added, "she's always liked the difficult questions." A proper smile graced his features for a moment, then he sighed. "When she's fully healed, I can tell her everything, but for now it's best to just let it be. I'll let Wilf and Sylvia know what's going on; her poor granddad will be worried sick. Make sure to ring if she needs me."

Jack nodded seriously and Martha agreed once she'd seen for herself that Donna was okay. While they were leaving the room the Doctor took a quick look back at Donna, who was talking in her sleep. That had always been one of her quirks; sometimes she'd fall asleep while they were flying and they'd have half a conversation before he realized she was dozing.

"Oh, I've got the word," she stammered drowsily, "freezing." She was shivering, her body temperature slowly returning to normal, so he slipped off his coat and covered her with it. He grinned as he heard her mumble incoherently about Nerys being a conceited cow, followed by something that resembled Pompeii.

"Doctor?" she murmured, and he dropped to her side when she called his name again, louder this time. "Doctor, come back!" He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Shhhh, Donna, it's okay, I'm here," he soothed as he stroked her arm. She called for him once or twice more, then he must have come for her because she smiled and turned over, curling into a ball and pulling his coat tighter around herself. "Doing this again, are we?" he teased his sleeping companion.

He kissed her cheek, relieved to feel that she was cooling down, and put his fingers to her neck. Her heart was still a little fast, but nothing to be concerned about. She unconsciously brushed his hand away and muttered, "Hands off, Spaceman," before telling someone in her dream, "We're _so _not a couple." He cracked a smile and turned away, barely hearing her whisper "I missed you" as she rolled over again and started snoring. "Missed you too, Donna," he couldn't help but reply as he flicked off the light and left his friend to sleep.

--The End--


	6. Chapter 5b: The End, and It Is

"_I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never going to leave you."_ Rose's promise to him slipped out of Donna's head as her grip on his arm slackened, the last of his Time Lord thoughts finally evacuated from her precious human brain as her eyes slid closed. He let go of her mouth, still holding her up with one arm, and congratulated her. "Donna, we did it!" He moved his hand to her shoulder so she could sit up and her head tipped loosely back into his fingertips. He knew she'd be exhausted after her ordeal, but she should at least be awake. "You're safe, it's okay. Open your eyes." She didn't respond.

He thought maybe she was still having problems breathing, so he dipped his head to help her but stopped short; Donna didn't look like she was sleeping. Asleep, she'd always twitched and tossed about, though he'd never admit to standing outside her bedroom door on the TARDIS most nights to check on her; he knew she'd slap him.

Some nights he'd wake and be able to hear her talking clear from his bed, only to realize she'd sleepwalked into his room and unknowingly snuggled up beside him. He had gotten used to carrying her sleeping form back to her room and tucking her back into bed, sometimes worried that he'd drop her as she wriggled unconsciously in his hands. Now she was perfectly still, even more so than when she'd fainted.

He pulled her tight against him, his ear pressed to her chest to check her heart rate but finding none. It was possible she was levelling out so he listened for a few more seconds, but when she remained still and her heart didn't shift in the slightest he knew she was in trouble.

He lowered her to the floor so he could start CPR, trying to remember how to even perform the action. He hadn't needed to do this for a human in so long he couldn't recall the proper form. "I'm thick, I'm so thick. Donna, what do I do?" He didn't know whether to do five or fifteen compressions but he threaded his fingers together and started pushing on her chest, willing her heart to start beating again.

"Please, Donna." He reached down to give her air, pulling his lips from hers and pausing so close to her face he could feel the heat rising off his friend from the fever that had been ravaging her body. He shoved his hands against her repeatedly, pressing hard enough he was sure he'd injured her somehow, but nothing changed. "What am I doing wrong?" he shouted at her desperately. Then it occurred to him.

"_It's a shock! Look! Shock! I need a shock!" he gestured madly, spraying anchovies on her._

_Without a moment's hesitation, Donna replied, "Right then. Big shock, coming up!"_

The sonic screwdriver had skidded across the floor a few minutes before, so he scrabbled over to grab it and returned to his friend. "Come on, Donna," he joked. _"Partners_ in crime, remember? You can't expect me to do all the work." He bit his lip and held the screwdriver against her unmoving chest. Hoping it wouldn't hurt her too much, he hit the button and her body jerked as the tool sent electricity zooming through her. He pressed his hand against her, still feeling nothing, and put the screwdriver to her again, increasing the setting.

Donna's form lurched and he barely stopped her head from falling back to the floor with a smack. The Doctor stroked her hair as he held the screwdriver against her, set as high as it would go, and let his hand linger on her temple for a moment. Silence. He activated the screwdriver one last time, supporting her as she convulsed from the shock, but when she stopped twitching from the jolt she was still limp, her head falling softly into his lap. "No..."

He shifted his finger to her throat, unable to feel anything but his own shaking, and resorted to pressing his face to her chest for the third time in as many minutes. "Oh, Donna," he choked back tears as he tried to find her heartbeat, knowing it was useless. Her mind had survived the metacrisis but her heart, the fragile, caring heart that he'd always seen in Donna despite all her shouting, hadn't been able to take the pressure.

The Doctor was normally reserved, keeping his emotions at least somewhat under control. He constantly hid behind his facade of 'I'm always all right', but he screamed in anger for the first time since the Time War at her death. Why was the universe so cruel sometimes, especially to someone as wonderful, as beautiful, as _special _as Donna?

Rose had found a happy ending, overcoming insurmountable obstacles, and Martha was more brilliant than ever, saving the planet on a daily basis and planning her wedding in the downtime. Even Sarah Jane had Luke and was doing her part to keep the world safe, but Donna...Donna was dead. She'd saved the universe and it repaid her by taking her life.

"_Everlasting death for the most faithful companion," _Dalek Caan had predicted, and the Doctor wiped the tears from Donna's peaceful face as he realized the creature was right. In the end, Donna lost everything she'd become and died before she got a chance to remember all she did.

Donna had tried to protect him the first time they met (although her motives admittedly hadn't been the best) and gave her life to save his when she didn't even know him. She hadn't gone with him because she fancied him, which was ridiculous, but because she wanted to be a better person, to make things better. _"__Sometimes I think you need someone to stop you." _She'd been willing to do that and more without asking for anything in return. She'd been his best mate, like a sister. _Was_ his sister now in a way, his family.

He tenderly smoothed back her hair, unsurprised to see the odd gray strand among her vibrant red curls. Donna wasn't _that_ much older than his other companions, but the last few months couldn't have been easy for her and the strain of her experiences was apparent from the frown lines etched around her mouth. He hadn't seen it before, but her tears had washed away her makeup and the dark circles under her eyes were now clearly visible.

From what Wilf told him the last time he called, Donna handled the trauma with remarkable grace, although she'd shouted at her doctors when they couldn't explain her memory loss or excruciating migraines. That certainly seemed like the Donna he knew, confused and in pain but still putting on a sarcastic front. "Shouting at the world to make it better," he voiced shakily, "that's us," and he couldn't help but smile at her and gently take her hand.

His laid his head against the collar of Donna's shirt, his tears flowing freely onto her neck, and in that moment the all-powerful Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm and Defender of the Earth, curled into a ball with his head resting on his best friend's chest and cried. After several minutes he fell asleep, her lifeless fingers intertwined with his.

As he drifted off, he squeezed Donna's limp hand and thought of her actions after their trip to Midnight. He'd been paranoid when he returned and she'd stayed with him, ignoring it when he lashed out at her in the aftermath of his trip. He'd yelled at her, ripped her to shreds just because she accidentally called something 'fantastic', but when he stormed away from the TARDIS controls in anger she had followed him to his room, running after him despite the horrible things he called her. He could still see her chasing him, close to crying and apologizing for scaring him when she'd done nothing wrong.

"_Doctor, wait!" she pleaded._

"_Leave me alone, Donna," he commanded as he entered his room, and she burst into tears as he slammed the door in her face, locking it behind him._

_Donna banged on his door for almost a minute, imploring him to talk to her. "Doctor, please. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. Just come out," she begged. He heard her kick the wall in frustration then slide down to sit against the door frame. "I'm so stupid," she scoffed. "He's hurt and what do I do? I make it worse. Some mate you turned out to be, Donna, you dumbo."_

_She knocked on the wood, yelling, "Doctor, are you okay? Just let me know if you're all right." He was anything but okay, so he stayed silent out of spite until he heard Donna sobbing against the door, cursing herself all over again. "Doctor, I'm sorry," she called to him, "I...never mind. I'll leave you alone," she trailed off, then wiped the dampness from her eyes and quietly added, "might as well go pack my things, make myself useful."_

_Before she could get up he had the door open and was holding onto her so tight it hurt. "Ow! Stupid spaceman, what is it?" He let go and she stood to face him, each refusing to meet the other's eyes. "I'm all right," he muttered noncommittally. "I know," she responded knowingly, "and it's all my fault." She turned to walk away but stopped when he placed his hand on her arm. "You don't have to leave," he whispered, "I don't want you to go."_

_Donna closed her eyes and nodded, but when she looked up he was back on his bed already. She could hear him yawning through his fingers as he rubbed his hands over his tired face. She walked to the bed and sat beside him. "I'm sorry," they said in unison, and she gasped, flinching as his hand shot up toward her, but he simply reached to take off his shoes, lying down on the bed and absentmindedly putting his hand on her knee. "Sorry," he reiterated gently, and she covered his hand with hers without a word._

_They sat in silence for a while until he started to doze off and felt her weight shift off the bed. "Donna, don't leave me," he asked her quietly, and she settled down beside him, covering them both with the blanket she'd found. "Never," she replied sincerely as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and they drifted to sleep._

"Doctor?" His eyes cracked open at his friend's voice, startled by her presence. "Doctor, wake up."

"Donna...I'm sorry," he mumbled sleepily. She pulled him into her arms as he shuffled around, still half asleep. "I tried," he murmured as he tried to roll over, grasping for her hand. "Shhhh," she soothed, "it's okay." She took his fingers firmly in her own and he realized he wasn't dreaming any longer. "What?" They stared at each other for a moment, speechless.

The Doctor frowned. "Donna's dead," he said matter-of-factly. Martha put a finger to her lips to quiet him. He noticed his former companion had been crying, her eyes red and puffy and a few tears still trickling down her young face. "I know, and it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do."

"I know." He suddenly realized his head was in Martha's lap. He quickly sat up and looked around. "Where is she?" he inquired.

"Jack took Donna's..." Martha swallowed. "He took Donna downstairs to the Hub. We were going to call her family, but we didn't know what you'd want us to say." She sighed and blinked back tears. "I'm sorry." He nodded distantly and pulled himself to his feet as she took a deep breath and asked, "What happened?"

"Simple." He straightened up, adjusting his tie and sticking the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. "The Time Lord consciousness tried to force her body to behave like a Gallifreyan's: respiratory bypass, increased brain function, telepathy," the Doctor rattled off, "and of course two hearts. That part you already knew," he added with a forced smile. "But you humans, you only have one cardiac muscle, so it did the best with what it had to work with. Like diesel in a petrol engine," he explained. "Work something too hard and it overloads, shuts down, as standard as that," the Doctor concluded flatly. "Come on, downstairs," he urged her.

The ride down to the Hub was awkward but mercifully brief. The lift doors opened and showed Jack sitting with Donna in his arms on a nearby sofa while Gwen stood in the corner crying loudly; Mickey tried to comfort her but was, as a typical male, unsuccessful.

"'s okay," he was saying. "It's not your fault. You didn't know it'd kill her to see you," which of course launched his young coworker into a fresh bout of sobs. Martha stepped over to intervene and the Doctor approached Jack.

"Let her go, Jack," he requested. Jack shot up so fast he almost dropped the redhead to the floor, but the Doctor caught her and repositioned her on the couch, standing back up to meet the ex-Time Agent's worried face. "Doctor, I'm-"

"Don't," he commanded, "just don't." Jack looked like he was contemplating a reply, but he closed his mouth respectfully and nodded. "Thanks for taking care of her," the Doctor added in a more sincere tone, and Jack bobbed his head again as he took the hint and made his way over to Gwen, who was embracing Mickey and slowly calming down.

Mickey glanced over Gwen's shoulder and looked at the Doctor understandingly, holding his weeping friend tighter, and the Doctor smiled solemnly in response as he crouched beside the Hub's sofa.

"Well, I'm off. I have a few stops to make," the Doctor stated, and unceremoniously picked up his companion's prone form. Donna felt cool against his fingertips but he ignored it. "Doctor!" Mickey and Martha shouted simultaneously, but it was Jack that approached him.

"Where you going?" The Time Lord looked at Jack as if he had just asked the proper way to change a light bulb. "Chiswick," he responded nonchalantly, and turned toward the lift.

--

The Doctor walked into the TARDIS and shut the door behind him with a snap of his fingers, preventing Jack and Martha from entering. He cradled Donna's body in his arms and directed the TARDIS toward her home; when his ship jerked into action he steadied himself against the console, gripping Donna tighter, and within a few minutes they'd arrived. He walked up to Donna's front step, kicked the door, and waited, leaning against the house as he held her.

Wilf ran to the door, hoping Donna was finally home, and took a moment to look through the small hole in the wood. "Doctor!" he shouted excitedly upon seeing his face, and he ripped open the door. "Doctor, you're back! Did you find a way to-" Wilf snapped his mouth shut when he saw that the Time Lord was carrying his granddaughter. Her limp body was braced between his shoulders and she didn't appear to be breathing. "Donna?"

"She was the most important woman in the universe," the Doctor repeated thickly as he walked past a confused Wilf and into the front room. "And to us, she always will be," he finished softly as he placed his friend on the couch and lovingly brushed the hair from her cold face.

--The End--


End file.
